Book news, reviews and recommendations
I so enjoyed both Naomi Wood’s Bauhaus themed thriller The Hiding Game and Mrs Hemingway, a wry take on what it might have been like to be married to Ernest, that I jumped at the chance to read her short story collection. This is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things comprises nine lengthy stories, all […]
This is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things by Naomi Wood: A debut short story collection Read More »
This is the second set of novels with an art theme in this series of posts. I introduced the first wondering why I’d read so much recent fiction featuring artists, speculating about a publishing trend or that it was simply my own interest in the subject but perhaps it’s because artists often lead interesting lives
Five More Novels I’ve Read About Art Read More »
Lots of paperback goodies to help us all through the dank, dreary days of February, even more necessary than usual this year, more than enough for a two-part preview. I’ve already read several beginning with Rowan Hisayo Buchanan’s Starling Days whose poignancy leavened with wry humour and striking images echoes her debut, Harmless Like You.
Paperbacks to Look Out for in February 2021: Part One Read More »
This year marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of my favourite UK literary award, The Women’s Prize for Fiction. I still remember being excited at the prospect of this prize when it was first announced and my delight when Helen Dunmore’s A Spell in Winter was the inaugural winner of what was then called the Orange Prize.
My Wishlist for the Women’s Prize for Fiction 2020 Read More »
This third instalment covers two months of what was a passably good summer here in the UK beginning with an unexpected treat in July. If you’ve been following this blog for a while you’ll have gathered that Kate Atkinson is one of my favourite writers. In September 2018 we were treated to Transcription then less
Books of the Year 2019: Part Three Read More »
Naomi Wood’s The Hiding Game has been on my radar since I discovered it was about the Bauhaus, the German art school whose designs I’ve long admired. It’s one of a multitude of books published to celebrate the movement’s centenary this year. I still have my eye on Theresia Enzensberger’s Blueprint which looks promising but
The Hiding Game by Naomi Wood: Love, jealousy and betrayal in the Bauhaus Read More »
Another year, another Man Booker Prize longlist in the offing, except this year its reverted to the Booker Prize, thanks to a change of sponsorship with Crankstart stepping into the funding breach as of June 1st this year. To be eligible for the prize all books must be published in the UK between October 1st
My 2019 (Man) Booker Wish List Read More »
Inevitably, July means summer reading which means fewer books for me, not being of the reading by the pool persuasion or doing anything by the pool for that matter. That said, I’m starting off with what will be a surefire summer bestseller: David Nicolls’ Sweet Sorrow. I loved One Day which was commercial fiction perfection
Books to Look Out for in July 2019 Read More »
Six Degrees of Separation is a meme hosted by Kate over at Books Are My Favourite and Best. It works like this: each month, a book is chosen as a starting point and linked to six other books to form a chain. A book doesn’t need to be connected to all the others on the
Six Degrees of Separation – from It to Mrs Hemingway #6Degrees Read More »
I’m quite a fan of bloggers’ monthly reading recaps so thought I might try it myself. As ever, I’ll only include books I feel are worth recommending so should this become a regular feature they’re unlikely to be long posts. I almost gave up Ellen Ullman’s By Blood, mainly because it has a curiously antiquated
Books Read (But Not Reviewed) in September 2015 Read More »